It was evident that the Third Elder held Daoist Buyu in high regard—likely because people often envied in others what they lacked in themselves.
Taking his leave of the Third Elder, Lu Yang made his way to Gentleman Peak.
Gentleman Peak was the Fourth Elder's domain. The mountain was elegant and refreshingly cool, bathed in a perpetual mild summer. Pavilions and flowing streams could be seen everywhere, amidst upright, emerald-green bamboo. At a single glance, one could tell this was a retreat favored by literati and scholars for composing poetry. Even if a bamboo stalk suddenly opened its mouth to recite a line or two from the Sayings of the Sage, Lu Yang would not have felt the least bit surprised.
Having witnessed all manner of bizarre oddities across the Dao Seeking Sect, Lu Yang had already honed his psychological fortitude to an exceedingly formidable level.
Lu Yang also spotted black-and-white iron-eating beasts rolling around the hillsides, as well as senior brothers drinking and merrymaking. One senior brother gave free rein to his poetic brush, splashing ink into a scenic painting before slipping right into the canvas to frolic alongside the painted figures, utterly carefree.
An iron-eating beast even came over and nudged Lu Yang with its snout, nearly knocking him flat on his back. It was merely playing, but Lu Yang had urgent business to attend to. Only after much wheedling and coaxing did the creature finally let him go, offering him a half-chewed piece of bamboo before parting.
"Greetings, Senior Brother. May I ask where the Fourth Elder can be found?" Holding the half-chewed bamboo, Lu Yang stood before the painting and asked respectfully. This senior brother's mastery over the Dao of Painting was frighteningly high, bordering on rendering the illusory indistinguishable from reality.
Hearing Lu Yang's call, the senior brother poked his upper body out from the canvas. "Who are you?"
"This humble one is Lu Yang."
At the mention of Lu Yang's name, comprehension dawned on him. "Oh, I know you! The newcomer Lu Yang, Yun Zhi's disciple."
"...Eldest Senior Sister accepted me on our master's behalf. I am a disciple of Daoist Buyu," Lu Yang corrected him earnestly.
"My name is Ji Hongwen. I entered the Dao Seeking Sect in the same intake as Eldest Senior Sister, and I'm the Fourth Elder's eldest disciple." This senior brother put on no airs whatsoever, looking down on Lu Yang neither for his junior status nor for his modest cultivation.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Ji." Lu Yang was astonished; he had not expected Ji Hongwen to belong to Eldest Senior Sister's cohort.
He had thought Dai Bufan was the only one of Eldest Senior Sister's generation, holding the greatest seniority among the disciples. Their cultivations were hardly inferior to the elders', and their handling of affairs had long earned the Grand Elder's trust and profound prestige throughout the sect. To think he would encounter another one here today.
By this reasoning, Senior Brother Ji's cultivation could not be low either.
Big shots who couldn't be found across an entire city or commandery in the outside world were ordinary sights within the Dao Seeking Sect.
"You wish to see Master? Come along. He should be teaching his students right about now." Ji Hongwen floated out entirely from the painting. With a light hook of his finger, another figure materialized from within the canvas.
Only then did Lu Yang realize Ji Hongwen had not been alone in the painting; there was also an exquisite beauty beside him.
The woman looked as though she had stepped out from the misty water towns of Jiangnan, her cheeks faintly flushed. Gentle, refined, with a blossom-like smile and eyes brimming with tender sentiment, she was peerlessly stunning. Her garments were daringly revealing, enough to make a sheltered young man like Lu Yang blush instantly.
"Haha, is she pretty? I painted her myself. Want me to paint one for you, too? She can keep you company in bed at night," Ji Hongwen teased.
Lu Yang shook his head vigorously.
He needed to preserve his kidney water.
The stunning beauty looped her arm around Ji Hongwen's, gazing at him with eyes full of deep affection.
What Lu Yang did not know was that far more disciples wished to learn this art from Ji Hongwen than those yearning to master the Third Elder's Heaven-Shaking Six Forms.
Led by Ji Hongwen, Lu Yang arrived deep within the bamboo grove, where a traditional private academy stood nestled in the woods. Inside sat the Fourth Elder, acting every bit the dignified scholar-teacher; Man Gu, an uncarvable block of rotten wood; and several ordinary passersby diligently listening to the lecture.
The Fourth Elder was expounding upon the meaning of an ancient text: "'...Looking southwest from the pond, the brook zigzags like the Big Dipper and winds like a snake, visible in parts and hidden in others. Its banks interlock like dog teeth, such that its source cannot be discerned...'
"Come, Man Gu, translate this passage: what does 'Its banks interlock like dog teeth, such that its source cannot be discerned' mean?"
Man Gu bowed his head in deep thought for a moment before declaring in a confident tone, "Two dogs are fighting by the riverbank, and nobody knows why!"
The Fourth Elder quietly closed the classical tome, rolled up his sleeves, and produced a wooden discipline ruler.
Just as he was about to strike the back of Man Gu's hand, he recalled the earnest teachings of the ancient sages—educate without discrimination, and teach according to the student's aptitude.
He had seen Man Gu's relentless diligence with his own eyes; the boy was fundamentally good-natured. This flawed translation had to be an isolated blunder. If he posed a simpler question and Man Gu answered correctly, there would be no need for the ruler, offering everyone a graceful way out.
"'Kings, dukes, generals, and ministers—are they born of a special seed?' What does this sentence mean?"
According to historical records, when the Great Yu Dynasty fractured one hundred thousand years ago, the dynasty's royal nobility stepped forward, raising their banners high in a bid to reunify the realm and restore the Great Yu Dynasty's rule.
The populace placed deep faith in the sanctity of bloodlines, believing the Great Yu bloodline was inherently noble. The nobility's rhetoric had won over vast swathes of people.
Yet the Ancestor of Emperor Xia, having suffered under their tyranny, knew full well how rotten those nobles were to the core. High and mighty, wallowing in hedonism, they knew nothing of the common people's hardships nor the grueling struggles of cultivation. Pampered from childhood by heavenly treasures and earthly elixirs, their cultivations soared until they practically turned into living spirit herbs themselves. Even if such people founded a new Great Yu Dynasty, it would rapidly decay.
As a visionary, the Ancestor of Emperor Xia had raised his arms and cried out: "Kings, dukes, generals, and ministers—are they born of a special seed?" It became an immortal cry, passed down through the ages.
Even Man Gu, who hailed from the Barbarian clan, had heard this proverb before and held immense admiration for the Ancestor of Emperor Xia's valor.
"The meaning of this sentence is: 'Kings, dukes, generals, and ministers—do you have the balls?!'"
The entire classroom erupted into roaring laughter.
The Fourth Elder hesitated no longer. Raising the ruler, he cracked it across the back of Man Gu's hand, making the burly youth grimace and hiss in pain.
Man Gu could not fathom where he had gone wrong. For the Ancestor of Emperor Xia to taunt the royal nobility right to their faces—what immense courage that must have taken!
Could the sentence truly mean something else?
Standing at the doorway and quietly observing the lesson, Lu Yang observed three seconds of silent mourning for Man Gu.
Seeing this scene, Ji Hongwen shook his head with a chuckle. "I really don't know what Junior Brother Man Gu was thinking. As a scion of the Ancient Barbarian race, he ignored the Third Elder's consummate arts and instead chose to apprentice under our master. He's taken no shortage of beatings over this past year.
"Though, I noticed his mind has grown sharper since returning from his recent mission. Do you know why?"
Lu Yang shook his head. How could he possibly know?
"By the way, Senior Brother Ji, it looks like the way the Fourth Elder strikes his hand follows some sort of rhythm. Is that just my imagination?" Facing Ji Hongwen's probing gaze, Lu Yang hurriedly diverted the topic.
Ji Hongwen looked at Lu Yang with a hint of surprise. "Your eyes don't deceive you. That is actually a technique for stimulating bloodline potential, though it is excruciatingly painful, and very few can endure it. Master is using this method to awaken Junior Brother Man Gu's Ancient Barbarian bloodline. Oh, make sure not to mention this to him."
Lu Yang nodded.
"Once Master finishes the lesson, you can speak with him."
With that, Senior Brother Ji took the stunning beauty by the hand and departed.
Classroom lectures always seemed interminably long. Lu Yang listened from the doorway; though the Fourth Elder taught for only fifteen minutes, to Lu Yang, it felt as though several hours had crept by.
At last, the Fourth Elder dismissed the class, only to be approached by the inquisitive Lu Yang.
"You want to know what kind of person that utterly wicked, trouble-making, rotten-to-the-core Ninth is?"
Lu Yang: "..."
*Thank you, but I think I already have a fairly clear picture of my master.*
Chapter 110